Because experience with large information retrieval (IR) and database management (DBM) systems has shown that they are not adequate for the handling of textual material, two Swedish companies--Paralog and AU-System Network--have joined in a venture to develop a software package which combines features from IR and DMB systems to form a Text Data Base System (TDBS) with text retrieval functions, structuring and immediate database updating capabilities, and a well-defined interface between the DBM system and an application program. The first version of TDBS will be implemented using a portable subset of Pascal on a VAX 11/780 and will be available during 1983. In this preliminary report, TDBS is specified as using the package concept of the Ada language. Following a list of TDBS features, the report describes: (1) TDBS data structure, with definitions of field types, composite types, databases, and an example of how to use the structuring facilities of TDBS; (2) TDBS data manipulation, including file handling, searching, and structure handling; (3) updating of TDBS files; and (4) the interface between TDBS and an application program. A list of eight references and an appendix defining the eight Ada packages which are used to specify TDBS conclude the report. (ESR)